Too many boundaries . . .

by Kim

"Fear is the highest fence." - Dudley Nichols

A boundary, a limit, something that divides one thing from another. Sometimes for our safety or for someone else's privacy.

But, they can keep us from getting close to people, and relationships, and to experience.

They can keep us from exploration and from trying new things. Sometimes it's because of the boundaries others put in place, but often it is because of the ones we put in our own path either consciously or subconsciously. 

Fear is often the culprit, because of the unknown or because we have come to believe a certain set of expectations that may not be true. Yes, sometimes fear seems to be an impossibly high fence, and kind of like barbed wire . . . if we allow it, a little painful too.

I know we have all mentioned this here, and to each other, that the act of going out with our cameras have helped us to "see" more. And to a certain extent that is true, but how much more are we seeing, really? 

As I was sitting on my front porch this weekend enjoying the breeze and the birds singing, and the little lizard that climbed onto my hand, I started to really think about those boundaries and expectations. Because as much as looking through my camera does allow me to see more because there is a limited view of focus, I still think I'm doing so with more boundaries and expectations than there should be.

My intention is to really dig deeper in cultivating the way I see through my lens that will allow me to tear down the boundaries I have and let me see beneath the expectations, even if I have to look at things sideways. And that perhaps instead of going out to make an image . . . I could let go of all perceived ideas and just participate in the receiving.

Poet John O'Donohue said, "The heart of vision is shaped by the state of the soul. When the soul is alive to beauty, we begin to see life in a fresh and vital way." 

Now, don't freak out . . . yes this is a spider. But for just a moment I want you to remove the boundary I know you just put up, and the negative thoughts that accompany the label of "spider." I used to have nightmares about spiders, and, I'm severely allergic (as in anaphylactic shock allergic). But my camera has helped me to see past the "ewww" factor of an insect that society tells me I should dislike. And in its place I have found fascination, wonder and awe. This didn't happen overnight, but as I took down the boundary caused by fear I began to see beauty instead. Beauty in their colors and patterns, and the gracefulness in which they spin their webs.   

{Interesting spider fact: Spiders are capable of producing different kinds of silk so that they don't get caught in their own webs. And the silk is in liquid form before it exits their body.

And I came across this quote I had written in my journal some time ago that seems appropriate for this post. It made me think that sometimes when I try too hard, or try to force a photograph, it's in that very act that I create boundaries.  

"You need not do anything,

Remain at your table and listen.

You need not listen, just wait.

You need not even wait,

Just learn to be quiet, still and solitary.

And the world will freely offer itself to you unmasked.

It has no choice, it will roll ecstasy at your feet." - Franz Kafka

Maybe it's not the camera that shows us beauty after all, but only one of many tools that helps us to be still enough to receive moments from all that surrounds us. A tool that can help us to remove boundaries and labels that will allow us to see beyond the surface of life and people (and yes even spiders). 

Are you up for a challenge? I'm going to try being a little quieter, a little more still, and try to see what the world will offer up when my view is boundary free. Are you in?

Love, Kim